Indiegogo: 7 Questions with the New Deck Order of the Cardistry of South East Asia Project

Cardistry is a breathtaking performing art form. The manipulation of playing cards with intent to display creativity and skill have captivated many for the past few years. You’ve probably seen a snippet of cardistry – a card flourish on youtube or even teaser for new playing cards.

Cardists (or “card artists”) are gradually becoming more and more advanced in their technique. Jaspas Deck is one of the masters who is constantly pushing the boundaries of this art. Recently announced as the finalist of the World Kardistry Championship, Jaspas and the New Deck Order have created the Cardistry of South East Asia DVD project on Indiegogo to share their passion for the art.

This project involves 10 Cardists across 5 different countries- the largest Cardistry project to-date! This project will be the precedent for further documentaries of Cardistry scenes around the world by New Deck Order. We had a quick chat with Loretta of the New Deck Order on the Cardistry of South East Asia (SEA) project, using Indiegogo, inspiration behind the SEA deck and the community support.

Can you tell us about New Deck Order and how did you guys come about?
The New Deck Order was formed with the idea of bringing Cardists around the world together. The Cardistry community has always been small, but we are scattered all over the world and therefore it's hard for everyone to know each other personally. We hope to be able to make this community a tighter and more close-knit one.

Can you describe the Cardisty of South East Asia Project and why you’re passionate about it?
This project involves many Cardists from all over the region and is by far the biggest Cardistry project to be done. Considering our physical proximity from all the big names in Cardistry, this part of the world doesn't receive a lot of attention. There are so many Cardists here who deserve more exposure and we want to give them this opportunity to showcase to the world what Southeast Asia has to offer.

When did you first start thinking about using indiegogo for the project? What made you decide to take the plunge?
As there are lots of costs involved for this project, such as travel and accommodation to all the various countries and production costs for the cards, we just didn't have enough at the time to get it started. We also wanted more people to play a part in making this happen. As we're located in Singapore, we're not able to use Kickstarter. We chose flexible funding because we were going to go ahead with the project even if we were not fully funded.

There are a lot of interest in the SEA Deck. How did you come up with the idea and how much time did you spend working on the deck?
We wanted to make something different from regular cards, something simple but able to change the looks of moves. We decided on replacing the court cards with pips, which will provide a consistent look in displays, fans, etc. The conceptualization of the design took about a month, and the designing itself took about another month.

What is your favourite Perk in the project and why? The CoSEA Ultimate Package! It includes all the products that we've come up with for the project - the DVD, lecture notes, and playing cards. It is indeed the ultimate package for people who want to invest in this project!

After more than 20 days, the project is still not funded. What do you think of the support given by the cardistry community so far? Would you do anything different?
It's understandable that the response by the community for this project is way less unenthusiastic as if it had been purely a deck of cards. We recognize that there are lots of people who would want the cards without having to buy a DVD along with it, but the primary focus of the project is the DVD and we wanted people to see it as such, and not a playing card project. If we had to change something about the project, it would be to give more time to market it to the community. We came up with this idea late last year and have to make the tour this summer when all the Cardists are available, or wait till next summer to do it. We only had a short time frame to churn everything out.

Finally, what are your favourite playing card decks?
Our favourite playing card decks include old Studs, Aviators and Tally-Hos
The DVD itself features moves from 8 Southeast Asian Cardists.

Thanks guys and all the best!

Don't miss out! This is a rare chance to know these cardistry masters who are constantly pushing the boundaries of this art, and gain insights from the creative minds of the hundreds of practitioners in the region. Also, Jaspas Deck will also be giving lectures in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Manila.

Pledge now to get the physical copy of the DVD. It includes an insert full of photography, comments and notes from the tour. The highly sought-after SEA deck is available at a higher perk.